In “To Virgins, to Buy Much Time” by Robert Herrick, Herrick writes to young virgins, emphasizing that time passes quickly and that they should seize opportunities while they are still young. He is able to illustrate his point in great detail with his use of nature metaphors. Furthermore, Herrick writes that mortality and death are rapidly approaching and that virgins should marry before they are too old and time has driven them away. Herrick uses the poem's metaphors and construction in a simple yet memorable way to show the importance of seizing youthful opportunities and the paradox of life leading to death. The rhyme and meter of “To Virgins” are quite simple, just like the message the poem conveys. The rhyme is in ABAB format. In each stanza, the final words of the first and third lines rhyme, and the final words of the second and fourth lines rhyme. For example, the final words “may” and “today” rhyme in lines one and three, respectively, and this pattern continues throughout the poem. The simplicity of the rhyme scheme is key to the message. Herrick does not complicate the poem with complicated phrases or wordplay to create rhymes, but keeps the rhyme clean and relevant, making his message memorable. Herrick uses seemingly opposite rhyming words to highlight his ideas such as "a-flying" and "dying" or "marry" and "tarry", while maintaining cohesion and simplicity. The meter is also quite simple, with the odd lines in iambic tetrameter. , which means that each line has four feet containing one unstressed and one stressed syllable, with the exception of the first foot of line 1 which contains a trochee instead of an iamb, having one stressed and one unstressed syllable...... middle of sheet ......uth, time, death and mortality; the paradoxes of life leading to death and beauty leading to aging; and the musicality of the poem linked to its metaphysical understanding. Herrick accomplishes the task of weaving emphasis and meaning within the 16 short lines of his poem by employing masterful control over rhyme and simple structure, with an effective and brilliant result. The transcendence of this poem across generations is a testament to its ability to communicate the point and, ironically, the reason it has survived the very test of time and youth that the poem speaks of, and is studied to this day. Cited Herrick, Robert. “To the virgins, to gain a lot of time.” 1648. Approaching literature: reading + thinking + writing. Ed. Peter Shakel and Jack Ridl. 3rd ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2012. 819. Print.